HIROSHI-ME-ME-ME by Natalie Menna to be Presented at Theater for the New City This Month

"Hiroshi-Me-Me-Me" is a comedy of obsession by Natalie Menna about three people who frequent a coffee shop in Manhattan.  The play is an object lesson for modern women on how not to handle yourself in romance, to wit:  never think about whether your relationship is worth continuing or not, never tell the other person (or people) how you honestly feel and how you want to move forward, and never to learn from the experience by paying attention to where your feelings come from.  Theater for the New City (TNC), which has been Menna's creative home since 2018, will present the play's premier run February 18 to 28, directed by Roger Hendricks Simon.

 

Most of the play shows us the embers of a short-lived affair between an imaginative woman, Roberta, and the man who is fleeing her, Hiroshi. It's clear that Roberta's self-absorbed delusions have sent both this boyfriend and her best friend, Sarah, running for the door. Roberta's fixation with the ever-elusive Hiroshi dominates all aspects of her life and causes crazy conflicts with her just-jilted BFF. Hiroshi is spinning both of them like a yo-yo in each hand and unforeseen events jeopardize these already all-too complicated relationships. Does Hiroshi deserve all this devotion?  As Roberta twists on the line that binds her to this man, the audience gets to savor the demands she lays out to pin him down with. The fun of the comedy is the banter of the three characters and the bittersweet, comic hopelessness of Roberta's obsession.

 

The piece is acted by Natalie Menna, Brad Fryman and Holly O'Brien.

 Bios

Natalie Menna (Playwright, Roberta) most recently appeared at TNC as Tekla in August Strindberg Rep’s modernized "Creditors." Her other Strindberg roles with this toupe include Hedda in its modernized "Hedda Gabler," Alice in "Dance of Death Parts 1 & 2," Elise in "The Pelican" and Laura in "The Father." TNC has presented her plays "Zen A.M." and "Occasionally Nothing" in its Dream Up Festival and in mainstage productions, beginning in 2018.  Her plays have also appeared at and been produced by 14th Street Y, Ego Actus, Gene Frankel Theatre, United Solo, PCTF, MITF and Nylon Fusion among others. Her short film "Timber" was selected for the Oberon Theatre Company Film Series finale 2021. She will play Vivian Leigh in "Orson's Shadow," a co-production by Oberon Theatre Ensemble and Strindberg Rep, written and directed by Austin Pendleton, this March at TNC. (www.nataliemenna.com)

 

Roger Hendricks Simon (Director) is a graduate and founding member of Robert Brustein's Yale Repertory Company. He has directed and acted for Joe Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival, London's Royal Court Theatre, Dublin's Abbey Theatre, Edinburgh Festival, Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, La MaMa, Roundabout, Juilliard Opera, Los Angeles Theatre Center, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, O'Neill Playwrights Conference, Folger Shakespeare Group, Great Lakes Theatre Festival, PBS, Metromedia and BBC-TV, and NPR.  He is also a prominent acting teacher in NY and LA. He was producing director of NPR's Simon Studio Presents (also on XM Sirius cable radio and Time Warner Public Access TV).  As an actor, he recently won the 2020 International Independent Film Award for Best Actor in a Supporting role for "Love in Kilnerry" and appeared opposite Michael Douglas in Oliver Stone's "Wall Street 2."  He will co-star Off Broadway in "This is Not a Time for Peace" by Deb Margolin opening next month on Theatre Row. (www.rogerhendrickssimon.com / www.thesimonstudio.com)

 

Brad Fryman (Hiroshi) has appeared in numerous roles in August Strindberg Rep's productions of Strindberg plays at TNC, all directed by Robert Greer.  These include Adolph in "The Creditors," Lovborg in "Hedda Gabler," The Captain in “The Father” and The Dead in “The Isle of The Dead.” He appeared in Natalie Menna’s “Occasionally Nothing” directed by Ivette Dumeng at TNC and played Theo Van Gogh in Natalie Menna's "Committed” directed by Brock Harris. Other credits include “The Drawer Boy” by Michael Healey directed by Alex Dinelaris, "American Rapture" also directed by Alex Dinelaris, “Order” By Christopher Stetson Boal directed by Austin Pendleton, “Pimm’s Mission” by Christopher Stetson Boal directed by Terrence O’Brien, “A Wilder Christmas” by Thornton Wilder directed by Dan Wackerman and "Einstein" directed by Randy Curtis Rand.  He is Artistic Director of the Oberon Theatre Ensemble, which is currently celebrating its 26th season.  He'll play Orson Welles in "Orson's Shadow," a co-production of Oberon Theatre Ensemble and Strindberg Rep written and directed by Austin Pendleton, this March at TNC. 

 

Holly O'Brien (Sarah) was last seen as Luella in "Occasionally Nothing" by Natalie Menna at TNC. Her roles include: Belle in "Disney's Beauty And The Beast" at Cumberland County Playhouse, Merry-Go-Round Playhouse and Arkansas Repertory Theatre; Goldie in "Two By Two" directed by Martin Charnin, Norma Jean/Marilyn Monroe in "Norma Jean Enlightened" (Best Actress, Midwinter Madness Theatre Festival in NYC), Peggy in "The Taffetas," Cindy Lou in "The Marvelous Wonderettes," Luisa in "The Fantasticks," Brooke in "Noises Off," Cora in "The Iceman Cometh,"Minnie in "Glasshouse" directed by Ivette Dumeng for the Nylon Fusion Theatre Company, and Eleanor in "A Tomato Can't Grow In The Bronx" by Gary Morgenstein.  She was also a featured Soprano Soloist in Vienna at the "Wiener  Musikseminar," a singer on board Seabourn Cruise Line, and Glinda in a "Wicked" Broadway concert with the Rockland County Choral Society. She graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy and earned her B.F.A in Musical Theatre from The Hartt School. (www.hollyobrien.com)

 

A fragment of "Hiroshi-Me-Me-Me" was previously mounted at The Network One-Act Festival.  TNC is now mounting the play's full-length version.  Playwright Natalie Menna writes, "Crystal Field's love for playwrights makes TNC one of the best theaters that supports, promotes, and inspires us. I am so happy to be back to my home and  am eternally grateful for her support of my work. Crystal makes an enormous difference to New York City's theater scene.

Performance Details: 

January 18-28, 2024

Theater for the New City, 155 First Ave. (at E. 10th Street)

Presented by Theater for the New City

Thursdays through Saturdays at 8:00 PM, Sundays at 3:00 PM

$20 gen. adm., $15 seniors & students; pay what you can Thursday, Jan. 18 (opening date)

Runs :70

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